Arsenal vs Manchester City: Can Matteo Guendouzi actually start?

Arsenal will be facing Manchester City in less than a week. Is Matteo Guendouzi actually in like to start this monster of a first match?

Arsenal‘s impending match-up with Manchester City is rather large. I don’t think you’ll find another opening match as large as this one. Not for awhile. One team coming off one of then most impressive seasons since the Invincibles and one team still living in the shadow of, well, the Invincibles.

With the World Cup having taken place over the summer, it gets even dicier, because not every player is going to be ready for the season. Not physically, anyway.

It’s the Gunner’s midfield that is having the most problems. Lucas Torreira has only just joined the club for training, as has Granit Xhaka, and Aaron Ramsey has a niggling calf injury, not to mention the ongoing contract stand-off.

That is the starting three midfielders many would have assumed to see, yet it might turn out that only one is fully fit – Xhaka. And even that is a bit of a stretch.

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So the question I want to ask is if Matteo Guendouzi is actually going to start this match. As a fan, I want to see him start. Of course I do. He’s 19 and I dream of a 19 year old in the red and white running over the baby blues. That’s a beautiful thing. Baptism by fire? Hell yeah! Throw him in there and let’s watch him turn into a superstar.

That’s the dream.

But as an unbiased and (somewhat) educated “football man,” I have to question if this is the best way to go about it. The hesitation is pretty simple. He played at Lorient last season, he’s 19, he’s never played a team like City and he’s never played for a team like Arsenal.

The question isn’t “is he ready to start?” but rather “is it smarter to start a fully fit Guendouzi over a less-than-fully-fit someone else?”

Torreira, Ramsey, Xhaka – they are all going to want to start, even with the lacking fitness. And I do think Xhaka should be a shoo-in. He’s been back a bit longer, plus he knows the team. Maybe Ramsey too. But then shouldn’t we be considering Mohamed Elneny as well?

My professional side may be hesitant, but at the end of the day, progress is going to be about taking risks. Guendouzi can actually start. So let’s just see what happens.